Game for the Golden Throne
by Legio Sinica
Summary: The Emperor fell at Ullanor. Horus claims the Golden Throne as His rightful heir - and so do Rogal Dorn and Lion El'Jonson. Meanwhile, Roboute has marshalled enough forces to declare Imperium Secundus; Leman Russ, Mortarion and the sons of Konrad Curze plot in the dark. The game has begun. Kings will rise. Only one will rule.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

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* * *

 _You talk to me about the Victory at Ullanor. Victory? Victory?_

 _Yes, the largest, most dangerous Ork WAAAGH has been crushed under our heel, the xenos fleeing like the scum they are, while the light of the Emperor shines unchallenged…and that is story you wish to believe, the fable you choose to indulge. The fact is, the Master of Mankind fell with the great beast, and we have only one light left._

 _-Garviel Loken, Captain of the Luna Wolves 10th company, rebuking iterators_

The night has passed, but the bearer of the light fell just before the sun rose.

The Warboss of Ullanor was so powerful, that the Emperor and his favourite son Horus decided to teleport together into the enemy stronghold and slay the Warboss together, with the advantage of fighting a lone enemy with the power of father and son. It should have ended this way.

But when the greatest of mankind arrived in the fortress, they found not one but two fell Ork Warbosses. The thrice-cursed ork had allied itself with the Beast, another foul creature and powerful Warboss, in the face of a common enemy: The Imperium, instead of fighting each other for leadership of WAAAGH Ullanor. The winner of the coming battle will become hegemon of the entire galaxy. Battle was joined in the great chamber, with Custodes and Justaerin facing Nobs, while the two pair of leaders challenged each other.

Only one warrior and his account of events survived the apocalyptic battle: Horus Lupercal. According to him, the Emperor unleashed one final, fatal psychic blast to destroy the Ork Warboss that had mortally wounded him. The Beast, fearful of the Emperor's wrath, escaped by tellyporta. With His last breath, the Emperor placed His laurel crown on the First Primarch, making him Warmaster, before He took to the stars.

The narrative was supported by other signs. The Emperor's laurels was unmistakable; Astropaths and psykers, even _fleet sensors_ , all detected a great psychic surge that originated from Ullanor; no corpse of the three fallen leaders could be found in the room. Repressing his mourning, the Warmaster placated the Legions across the galaxy with his smooth talking, pointing Expeditionary Fleets to new frontiers and managed to have his brothers accept him as the new Emperor. He was welcomed to the Throneworld hailed by all. All was well, apparently.

The passage of power was surprisingly smooth, mostly because of the Sigilite's support, with both the First Lord and the Warmaster leading the restructuring of the Council of Terra, the Imperium's supreme governing body. Proud Fulgrim, the flamboyant Phoenician, has sworn to support his brother and Emperor. Fabius Bile, working with information from Malcador, was removing the complex set of neural implants that is the Butcher's Nails from Angron's head. The Golden Son, Rogal Dorn, consolidated the defences of the Sol system to epic proportions. Lorgar, forever ardent, spread the Imperial Creed in the form of religion throughout his dead Father's Imperium. Last but most importantly, although the Crimson King's dabbling in the forbidden arts incurred popular outrage, support from the Warmaster himself was enough for him to work on the Emperor's most secretive and most glorious project undisturbed.

Yet Primarchs, those beings between men and gods, would not all bow to Lupercal, this first among equals. Ferrus Manus, recognizing the great strength of his brother, chose to bend the knee; Corvus Corax, the Ravenlord, had no significant power base to work off from, so he had no choice. However, Roboute Guilliman, Lord of Ultramar, was busy building up the Five Hundred Worlds as his own pocket empire, not caring who would inherit the throne on Terra; Rogal Dorn, his Father incarnate in many ways, was constantly butting heads with Lorgar, who was determined to spread his version of the Imperial Creed; Leman Russ and Mortarion, isolated by the others and united in their hate of psykers -the Thousand Sons and Primarch Magnus, especially- were determined to take extreme measures "in order to stop the maleficarum"; Lion El'Jonson and Perturabo were as cold and aloof as their usual; Jaghatai and Sanguinius on the other hand, were preparing for another round of campaigns on the other side of galaxy. Wise are the people who can sense the tumult building up amid the illusionary peace, among them Malcador, who have begun to prepare the Council of Nikaea, focusing on the two topics of the Imperial Cult and the sanction of psykers to smooth out tensions between the Primarchs. If only things could have gone as planned.

The Cabal will not watch idly as the Imperium united its fractious princes. They contacted enigmatic Alpharius and gloomy Konrad Curze, showing them the rise of Chaos and the terrible future that would come forth. They thought themselves in control of the situation; they did not expect the Lord of Serpents to fire upon their ships as soon as emerged from hiding, for reasons beyond the Cabal's knowledge, killing many members, including Perpetual Damon Prytanis, in the process. The Alpha Legion claimed the unholy league's ships as its own in the aftermath. On the other hand, Curze stole a weapon that could change the entire situation from the vaults of the Cabal, something he would use to devastate the galaxy.

The other sixteen know nothing about this event. The Nikaea Council began at its scheduled date, but the tensions between Legion delegates already showed ill omens. The twin Primarchs, Alpharius and Omegon, quarrelling openly on sanctioning psykers could be thought of as amusing to some, but things were getting steadily worse: Dorn openly renounced Lorgar's "petty cult", and declared that he will take every necessary measure to ensure that it was put out; Russ and Abaddon were bellowing at the top of their lungs as they argued over the problem of executing the Cyclops; Ferrus and Perturabo, the Iron Lords, arguing over what defines the Pax Imperia was a civilised conversation in comparison. Just as Angron, still recovering from his treatment, stood to speak…

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOOOOOOOOOM.

Explosions engulfed the entire council chamber.

With epileptic screams of "THIS EMPIRE NEEDS NO EMPEROR", Konrad Curze, Dominus Nox, emerged from the shadows. Driven mad by visions of brother killing brother, the Night Haunter decided to solve this problem once and for all by killing all of his brothers first himself. The council, already gathered upon tense terms, immediately saw open battle as every participant wished to defend himself. Perturabo, builder of the amphitheatre, fired in rage at the Night Lords, killing Captain Saul Tarvitz by misfire; the Wolf-King of Fenris beheaded Magister Apophis of the Thousand Sons with Helwinter; the tip of Sarrisanata emerged through Omegon's chest; Vulkan, Primarch of the Salamanders, who did not bring Dawnbringer on grounds of courtesy, was left powerless as a result when the Night Haunter drove the Fulgurite through his hearts, becoming the first son of the Emperor to die in this bloody game.

Despite Konrad Curze announcing that he was the one responsible for the attack, none bothered as all killed in a desperate attempt to stay alive. Asides from Primarch Vulkan, Lord Commander Eidolon of the Emperor's children, Captain Tarik Torgaddon of the Luna Wolves Second Company, Triarch Golg of the Iron Warriors, Chapter Master Marius Gage of the Ultramarines, Master Merir Astelan of the Dark Angels and Erebus of the Word Bearers all died upon bloodstained Nikaea along with over ten thousand Marines from every Legion. The Thousand Sons, responsible for guarding the amphitheatre, suffered the most. The Red Council, with its "Edict of Blood" destroyed all hopes of the Primarchs' conflicts being solved peacefully, with every single one who left the battlefield preparing for total war.

Amid the storm of chaos, there was still one good news: Magnus has completed the Webway project, his power spanning the galaxy with the amplification of the Golden Throne, pushing back the Dark Gods' touch. There was one little problem, though. In order to keep the Golden Throne running smoothly and to maintain the exertion of protecting mankind across ten thousand light-years, the father of the Fifteenth is effectively trapped on the Golden Throne. The hand of Chaos will not be mangled in the coming game, but it will not be any less bloody than if it had did.

King of the Golden Throne, Terra and people, Overlord of the Five Segmentae, Warden of Space Marines, Warmaster Horus announced that the Legions of Russ, Mortarion and Curze were enemies of the Imperium, calling all other Primarchs to swear fealty to him and exterminate the rebels. The Emperor's Children, World Eaters, Iron hands and Word Bearers have taken up arms to defend the authority of their liege along with the Warmaster's own Luna Wolves. Alpharius, enigmatic as ever, also swore fealty, bringing the head of one who he claims to be his twin as proof. With six Astartes legions sworn to him, Lupercal is capable of launching another great Crusade, despite the Ravenlord's flight from Segmentum Solar.

Rogal Dorn, Lord of the Phalanx and Praetorian of Terra, claimed the Golden Throne as his by right of the Emperor's true heir. Hard-lined and strict to all, only the Raven Guard have joined the Imperial Fists, but many were under his command. Among his ground forces was the Emperor's Champion, Sigismund the Fearless; in SPESS, he holds the greatest fleet among all Primarchs, the Retribution Fleet he assembled under the pretense of bringing the Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth to justice. Faced with prospects of war, he utilized the broadcasts of Imperial Saint Euphrati Keeler much to his own resent, while also taking forces from Imperial Armadas and Rogue Traders, to further bolster his void fleet, already the greatest of all the factions. Though handicapped by relatively few numbers of Astartes, he commanded his sons to establish Iron Cages, fortress groups upon important Warp routes, to protect his vast but disparate domains in Segmentum Tempestus, to keep strategic superiority with a chokehold on Warp travel so long as he fought on home soil. At the same time, the Raven Guard spread out to acquire help from all worlds that have yet to join the banner of the Warmaster, especially Forge Worlds.

Lion El'Jonson WHO'S LOYALTY IS BEYOND QUESTIONING, Warden of Caliban and Defender of the North, struck an alliance with the Mad Architect with Ordinati and other weapons seized from Forge Worlds loyal to the Warmaster. They agreed, among other things, that Horus and Malcador seek to claim all of the Emperor's legacy as their own; Russ and his Rout were troublemakers; and thus, they must all be purged with absolute LOYALTY in order to restore peace and glory to all mankind. The First and the Fourth, united, was already a formidable force and the Son of the Forest secured a mysterious xeno device after slaying Calas Typhon of the Death Guard; finally, one claiming to be Omegon, who should have died by his twin's hand on Nikaea, met with the two Primarchs in secret, joining the two Legions with part of the Alpha Legion.

Battle-king in the East and Lord of Macragge, Roboute Guilliman declared the establishment of Imperium Secundus as the true empire of humanity after he activated the ancient xenos artefact called Pharos with secret help from Warsmith Barabas Dantioch, who left Olympia after being swept aside by his enemies in the Legion. As his delegation to Nikaea recovered Vulkan's body, the Salamanders swore themselves to his cause; his own ideals and diplomatic manoeuvres won over many separate companies from the other Legions. Finally, despite Sanguinius declining the seat of Emperor in the East, the Great Angel and the Great Warhawk allied themselves with the Ultramarines; in appreciation of these great powers, the Five Hundred Worlds took the renegade Thousand Sons, led by Ahzek Ahriman, under its wing, and kept the Librarius.

Wolf-King of Fenris, Leman Russ, was not one to simply accept fate, either. Even though the two did not trust each other fully, the Lord of Death managed to secure his alliance with the Great Wolf on their common stance of dealing with "witches and thieves". Unexpectedly, First Captain Sevatarion, who was leading the Legion when Curze decided to go on his killing spree, brought his Legion to the Wolf-King's cause. Those disagreed or expressed doubts about the Legion Master's decisions were mostly purged, like Krukesh the Pale, by the Atramentar. The late captain's seat among the Kryoptera was taken up by Malcharion, War-sage of the Tenth Company.

 **The Board is set.**


	2. Round 1

**Round 1**

 _"This war is different from the Great Crusade. Back then, all armies pushed outward from Terra. Now, they are turned towards each other."_

 _-Corswain, Master of the Dark Angels Ninth Chapter._

 **Dramatis Personae Majoris**

The Warmaster of Terra, Horus Lupercal

The Warmaster in the North, Lion El'Jonson

The Tempestus Emperor, Rogal Dorn

The King in the East, Roboute Guilliman

The King of Fenris, Leman Russ

* * *

It is obvious that Horus and Guilliman have the best openings. Both Lupercal and the Cobalt King have something that is critical for creating an interstellar empire: A Warp beacon. Another advantage they have over the other parties is that their allies' domains are close to their own. For Horus, his own homeworld lies right within Segmentum Solar, while Medusa's position near the Eye of Terror allows it to act as a thorn in the Lion's – and Russ'- side; Chemos and Bodt are available as springboards into Ultima Segmentum, while Colchis opens the way to all of Segmentum Pacificus. On the other hand, five hundred worlds have already fallen under the sway of the Ultramarines, and the number was growing. Macragge was nestled securely on the fringes of Ultima Segmentum, while Sotha, the world hosting the Pharos, lies even deeper in Ultramarine territory. In order to get to treacherous Guilliman, the Sons of Horus, once the Luna Wolves, have to break through Baal, Chogoris and Nocturne's defences, while hoping that Prospero will not threaten their advances _and_ break through the sea of ultramarine. Except for choleric Abaddon and bloodthirsty Luc Sedirae, none felt optimistic about the meat grinder. The other three factions were in a more delicate position; even though the power of their Legions was not too different from that of their brothers, the supply systems of their war machines were vastly different.

The Lion and the Wolf's homeworlds in Segmentum Obscurus were not far apart, so Grand Master Luther was already ordering the return of Ramilies-class star forts to Caliban, expecting an invasion targeting the Legion's homeworld. Olympia, on the other hand, was a thorn on the side of Ultima Segmentum, and taken together, the Iron League consisting of the Lion, Perturabo and Omegon hold a crescent-shaped territory within Segmentum Obscurus. Though the First's supply of exotic weapons from Terra and Luna was cut off, the Lion came up with a remarkably insidious yet effective plan: through Alpha Legion operatives, the Lion announced to members of the Martian Parliament that if they back his claim as Warmaster, he would re-open all fields of innovation the Emperor declared off limits when Horus was cast down. Though Mars lay at the heart of the Warmaster's realm, and even though the Lion's promise was little better than rubbish as none could tell how long it would take to destroy Lupercal, Fabricator-General Kelbor Hal secretly defected to the Lion. It was also at this time that Lorgar arrived on Mars to commission the construction of the Furious Abyss-class vessels, with firepower beyond even the legendary Gloriana-class possessed by the other factions, and while the Fabricator-General agreed on the spot, he was already plotting something else behind the unwary Primarch's back.

Rogal Dorn dominates Segmentum Tempestus, placing his power base at Inwit, while the bulk of his armada under command of his gene-son Yonnad obstructed the Warmaster's advance along the defences placed on Solar-Tempestus border, with intense fighting for control of important worlds such as Paramar V occurring, so as to prevent Lupercal from exploiting his advantage in Astartes numbers by entering the heart of Segmentum Tempestus; another strike force composed of high-speed vessels under command of Yonnad's young pupil Alexis Polux was tasked with rooting out xenos and pirates within the Tempestus Emperor's realm. As for Corax, he has shut himself away in his private laboratory, studying the archaeotech device he stole from Terra before leaving the Warmaster, in order to have a larger army ready when battle calls. Command of his sons fell to the Shade Lord Arkhas Fal, his cruel, bloody methods in culling xenos and suppressing dissidents giving the Raven Guard their infamous alias of "Space Sharks".

Though Russ loathed to admit, his position was the most precarious. Barbarus, homeworld of the Death Guard, was blockaded by the Imperial Armada and the Raven Guard, and though it was easy to defend, help from the distant world was not reliable at all. On the Night Lords' side, their homeworld threatens the rear of Caliban and Olympia, but it was also surrounded by the Iron League and the King in the East. As a result, Fenris could not expect much help from that other planet. Worst of all, both the Dark Angels and the sons of Medusa were moving on Fenris itself. The Emperor's Executioner found himself in a tight situation.

So Leman Russ, King of Fenris, struck first.

The Kryoptera led their fleet against the advancing knights of Caliban in a dangerous game of cat and mouse, forcing Alajos, commander of the Calibanite force, to halt his advance on Fenris lest his supplies be cut off. The Death Guard, surprising the blockading fleet, left their homeworld and brought war to the Iron Tenth. Both Legions were famed for their resilience, and it was best embodied by their respective Primarchs, Mortarion and Ferrus Manus, the child of death and the iron hands fighting each other to a standstill. The Fenrisian fleet, led by the Gloriana-class battle-barge Hfrankel patrolled the Fenris system – or so it seemed. Determined to join his disparate allies into one cohesive whole, the Lord of the Rout decided to strike at empty Segmentum Pacificus. He believed that by connecting Fenris and Barbarus, he would have a chance at surviving between the Warmasters. Combining elite ships such as the Terminus Est and the Nightfall into one strike force was a clever strategy, but the ale of his homeworld bolstered the Wolf King's spirits to dangerously high levels, and his tactics at gaining the support of his brothers dangerously idiotic.

The Word Bearers were unpleasantly surprised when the Legion, campaigning within Segmentum Pacificus, received news that the homeworld of Colchis was taken by the Wolves. However, Russ, in his hatred of Lorgar's pro-maleficarum attitude, ordered the cleansing of all 'taints' on Colchis and demanded the Urizen's surrender, after he reduced the Primarch's adoptive father Kor Phaeron to two spasming halves with Mjalnar. The resulting destruction, called the 'Burning of Colchis', reduced the civilised world to rubble and ashes. Yet Lorgar did not manage to avenge this insult by his own hand. The World Eaters, under the leadership of Angron, burst forth from Segmentum Solar, trapping the Alliance of the Condemned in Segmentum Pacificus. With no way back and no way forward – courtesy of the rapidly returning Word Bearers – Russ fought on like a wild animal, until the noose tightened around the Wolf King's fleet. The Armour Elavagar was no more after Reason and Duty, Angron's rechristened chainaxes, was done with Leman Russ' corpse.

The Kryoptera fell to fatal dissolution when internal conflict erupted into bloody strife once more. Kheron Ophion, the Coward, had enough of his sadistic colleagues and defected with critical information to the Warmaster in the North. With the Night Lords codes provided by the traitor, the Dark Angels found a discreet Warp route that went around the Night Lords blockade and enabled the First to strike at Fenris itself. Though the fleet of the Sixth fought with bestial fury, it did not make up for the difference between the number of guns of the two fleets. And the Lion unleashed a special weapon: the massive cruiser _Iron Duke_ , armed with a xenos device, arrived behind Fenrisian lines as the Invincible Reason and the main fleet drew out the Space Wolves' fleet. The guardians of the Aett realised too late that the dreaded Dreadwing, guided by the Iron Duke, had teleported right into the sky above the fortress-monastery. The rest, after a torrent of phosphex, rad, cyclonic shells, magma bombs, pulse weapons, macrocannons and cyclonic torpedoes, was history. Reconstructive history suggests that Russ decided to write El'Jonson a letter offering him surrender after an especially long night of games and ale.

Only very few of the Space Wolves, including Bjorn, managed to escape the Dark Angels' elaborate trap, with their last sightings being close to the Eye of Terror. As for Fenris…nothing happened on it, for the world has ceased to exist. Ships such as the Hfrankel were seized by Stormwing boarding parties, bolstering the Iron League's fleet. The destruction of Fenris marked the execution of His executioner by His Dark Angels, with the former falling into the realm of legends. On the eastern front, Perturabo's merciless fist of iron shattered Nostramo and other worlds serving the Eighth Legion, joining his zone of control securely with that of the Lion's. Forced into dire straits, the Night Lords disintegrated, most of them becoming roving, marauding warbands and a few under Sevatar, Var Jahan and Malcharion joining Warmaster Horus.

Mortarion believes that with his allies gone, it was time for him to manage the situation, so he declared his wish to parley with Horus. Horus' delegation was a fitting one for such a bold declaration – the Sons of Horus, under command of the Mournival, along with most of the Emperor's Children Legion under Primarch Fulgrim. The Warmaster of Terra himself was more concerned with the King in the East, so he remains in Segmentum Solar, keeping an eye on Guilliman with the bulk of the Sixteenth, a Third Legion contingent under the command of Lord Commander Vespasian and 'all' of the Alpha Legion, according to Alpharius at least, skirmishing against the White Scars and the Blood Angels. The Death Guard, bloodied by their conflict with the Iron Hands, were no match for the fresh invaders, even though the Fourteenth's strange, foul, chemical arsenal slew many heroes of the Warmaster, such as Captain Sedirae. The Phoenician brought low the Death Lord in single combat, but his glamourous face was marred forever by his opponent's corrosive weapons, and had to wear an ornate mask, crafted for him by Ferrus, to cover his ruined face.

Mortarion believes that with his allies gone, it was time for him to manage the situation, so he declared his wish to parley with Horus. Horus' delegation was a fitting one for such a bold declaration – the Sons of Horus, under command of the Mournival, along with most of the Emperor's Children Legion under Primarch Fulgrim. The Warmaster of Terra himself was more concerned with the King in the East, so he remains in Segmentum Solar, keeping an eye on Guilliman with the bulk of the Sixteenth, a Third Legion contingent under the command of Lord Commander Vespasian and 'all' of the Alpha Legion, according to Alpharius at least, skirmishing against the White Scars and the Blood Angels. The Death Guard, bloodied by their conflict with the Iron Hands, were no match for the fresh invaders, even though the Fourteenth's strange, foul, chemical arsenal slew many heroes of the Warmaster, such as Captain Sedirae. The Phoenician brought low the Death Lord in single combat, but his glamourous face was marred forever by his opponent's corrosive weapons, and had to wear an ornate mask, crafted for him by Ferrus, to cover his ruined visage.

The Ultramarine sea, greatest of Lupercal's worries, never materialised, for the Beast had returned from its flight from Ullanor and, with a dozen Ork attack moons, waged war against the Thirteenth on their home turf. With the new shipyards in Calth orbit destroyed by the Orks, Guilliman himself was so enraged that he pulled back troops from the Solar-Ultima border to eliminate this threat permanently. Though the White Scars and the Blood Angels continue to hold against Horus' advances, Jaghatai and Sanguinius had both promised to join battle against the Beast itself when the opportunity arises.

Just as the first of the Five Kings fell in the vicious war, the Mechanicum was also in tumult. Just as the three Furious Abyss-class vessels were completed, Kelbor Hal proclaimed his support for the Lion as Warmaster, and led the Legio Mortis against forces loyal to Horus in the Schism of Mars. However, the Warmaster's sons quickly turned the tide with other loyalists such as the Legio Ignatum. Defeated and forced into retreat, the Fabricator General fled the Solar system on the last Furious Abyss-class battleship under his command, the Furious Abyss, bringing precious STCs to join forces with his new master. The Council of Terra, infuriated at both this brand new episode of Mechanicum insolence and Hal's support for the Lion, declared the followers of Kelbor Hal to be the "Dark Mechanicum", a punishment unseen even in the murky records of the Great Crusade regarding the times, when the Mechanicum committed arguably treasonous crimes. For his heroic deeds in putting down the Martian Revolt, Warmaster Horus gave Argel Tal the solemn honour of naming the two remaining Furious Abyss-class vessels. This was how the Trisagion and the Blessed Lady came to be.

The Tempestus Armada was still successfully preventing Horus' forces from entering the southern Segmentum, even successfully stopping Death Guard survivors, under command of Nathaniel Garro, to join forces with the Warmaster of Terra. The blockade was not impenetrable, however, as Alpha Legion operatives under Lupercal managed to hack into the orbital batteries of the Imperial Fists iron cages. Just as the cannons of the Golden Son were about to fire on his own ships, Dorn, alerted on the situation, used Primarch-level protocols to detonate all compromised fortress worlds before Lupercal's forces could act. Caught in the chain of plasma reactor explosions, Horus' forces, including commanders Serghar Targost of the Sons of Horus and Mathias Herzog of the Alpha Legion, failed to evacuate and died with their thousands of soldiers.

So ends round one. The Alliance of the Condemned, destroyed. King Leman Russ and Primarch Mortarion, dead.

* * *

 _And here it is, chapter 2 completed._

 _sonic: Thank you!_

 _simply Eric: I was respecting the original author's writing style, though much of the original flavour of LOYALTY was lost through translation. In the Chinese language, 忠诚 can be used as a verb (I had to point out that meant purge, because it does not make sense not to), as an adjective and as a noun. The term's varied use was popularised by bilibili, and the author's sudden changes of style could probably be attributed to this outside influence._

 _Mr. Green37: In the grim darkness of the far future, it remains likely that acknowledging their humanity will still turn Primarch on Primarch..._

 _Guest: Well the problem here is that, if you are NOT the Warmaster, and if you lack substantial backing (no Guilliman, we are not talking about you) then your claim to the Golden Throne would be rather weak, like Leman Russ. And is Lupercal truly the best choice for the Emperor's heir? Wait and see..._


	3. Round 2

**Round 2**

 _"_ _We are talking about Rogal Dorn! This one will fight to the last and give not one step back."_

 _-Maloghurst, Captain of the Luna Wolves Seventh Company, Eye of the Warmaster_

 **Dramatis Personae Majoris**

The Warmaster of Terra, Horus Lupercal

The Warmaster in the North, Lion El'Jonson

The Tempestus Emperor, Rogal Dorn

The King in the East, Roboute Guilliman

* * *

As of that moment, Horus Lupercal has seized command of another Segmentum from the cold, stiff hands of his two brothers, while the Iron League led by the Lion and the Imperium Secundus led by Roboute, wary of each other, could not pit their full might against the Warmaster of Terra. With haughty Leman Russ removed from the board, the Warmaster of Terra's next target was Rogal Dorn, who was determined to oust the Luna Wolves from the Solar System for good. His strict and rigid demeanour was known to all, but Horus was still very much wary of the Lord of the _Phalanx_. Though Corax was not a formidable warrior or administrator in his own right, intelligence supplied to the Mournival suggests that there were over three hundred thousand mass-produced Raven Guard a.k.a the Raptors ready for deployment, and Horus' Legions, fresh from their battle with the Wolf-King, would be no match in numbers against the Dornian Legions at this rate.

On the other hand, though Angron's recovery from his near death was proof of Fabius Bile's remarkable surgery talent, the length of time and the rare medications required made removing the Butcher's Nails possible only to high-ranking members of the World Eaters such as Delvarus and Khârn, while the Chief Apothecary was sent to Luna for one of Horus' clandestine missions.

On the Ultima front, Eidolon's successor Lucius was slain by Jubal Khan "Lord of Summer Lightning" in single combat, and the Emperor's Children, demoralized at the death of their champion, retreated to their heavily fortified homeworld of Chemos in an attempt to stall the White Scars long enough for their gene-sire to come to their aid. Finally, though the Blood Angels and the World Eaters were partners in a dance of death, Sanguinius was nowhere to be found, much to Horus' relief. This is because Konrad Curze had somehow made his way to Baal, and as the Lord of Angels loves his home fiercely, he is hell-bent on capturing the Night Haunter, playing a deadly game of hide and seek in Baal's irradiated wastes.

For Terra, breakthroughs on the Alpha Legion's part deliver good news. Alpharius' analysis of files contained within the Cabal's ships point to lost weapons referred to as "Talismans of Vaul" or "Blackstone Fortresses" in the Gothic Sector of Segmentum Obscurus. These relics may finally break the stalemate on the northern front and defeat the Lion once and for all. The Mournival agreed to an expedition to the Gothic Sector, with even the more prudent members Hastur Sejanus and "Little Horus" Aximand believing that such weapons were worth the risk. With an anchor in the form of the Iron Hands already present within Segmentum Obscurus and Hol Beloth of the Word Bearers keeping a tight watch on Segmentum Pacificus, the Warmaster of Terra, believing himself unassailable, proceeded with the next step of his strategy.

Alpharius was tasked with attacking Nocturne itself, guarded by half of the Salamanders Legion under command of ex-Legion Master, Venerable Dreadnought Cassian Drakos, so as to open a route into the depths of Imperium Secundus and threaten Chogoris and Baal from the galactic south. But as always, the Alpha Legion plays more than one game – using the distraction caused by the battle, Alpha Legion infiltrators made their way into the crucial world of Olympia, a chokepoint between the Iron League and Imperium Secundus, in an attempt to turn Triarch Harkor, and his fellow Iron Warriors who were secretly harbouring seditious thoughts towards their Primarch, to the Warmaster's cause. Perturabo's iron-fisted way of governance has divided his own Legion, but the Mad Architect does not seem to be aware.

On the Calibanite front, rumours of Luther's impending betrayal were spread throughout worlds the First Legion holds in its grasp, so as to cover the Mournival's advance into the Gothic Sector. Horus hoped that Jonson, suspicious as always, would fall for the ruse and retreat to Caliban. In the best-case scenario, the Dark Angels will be at each other's throats while the Iron Hands recover from the losses they suffered in battles against the Death Guard. To the east, Fulgrim is at a standoff with Jaghatai, while Angron was slowly pushing the Blood Angels back. As for Horus, he joined his forces with Lorgar in a massive fleet that includes six _Gloriana_ s and two _Furious-Abyss_ class vessels in a force mighty enough to smash through the Iron Cages and no matter Corax's attempts to deter them, strike at Inwit itself ensuring that Dorn and his Retribution Fleet will turn back or face losing his homeworld. With superior firepower on the Wolf God's part, however, Rogal Dorn's fleet would not last long against the Warmaster's own, and the remaining Imperial Armada elements will be a piece of cake.

Rogal Dorn was also in a precarious situation. Leaving his power bases in Segmentum Solar has made upkeep of the Retribution Fleet nigh-unbearable, while some of his followers were defecting to Horus and even distant Guilliman. After sinking the _Terrible Angel_ when her crew attempted to defect to the Warmaster, Dorn steeled himself to achieve a grand victory, instead of merely bogging down the Wolf God so as to re-consolidate his position – and to retake his old power base, the Solar system. Though Corax, just leaving his studies in the Ravenspire, had yet to discover the exact position of the Warmaster's fleet, the Word Bearer's apparent weakness in Segmentum Pacificus alerted the Emperor of Storms – Horus was coming for his head.

To better adapt to this new situation, even Dorn, who was stubborn to a fault, was not above more underhanded tactics. From the moment he received news of the Emperor's death, he swore that he shall never place faith in gods any more, and the laws of succession indicate that Horus, having failed to protect the Emperor and in open rebellion against the rightful successor, of course had no right to inherit the title of Emperor. Among the things that mark the Golden Son as the rightful heir to his late Father were reports that should never see the light of day: Malcador manipulating the Council of Terra through means including but not limited to blackmail and assassination; Horus allowing the warrior lodges to spread to further his personality cult; and Lorgar, the peddler of false faith, spreading his twisted beliefs by making an example of those who refused to accept the Imperial Cult. Rogal Dorn had planned to use these reports as his trump card at the Council of Nikaea, but Curze ruined his plans. Now, with Lorgar using the Emperor's selfless heroism as propaganda fuel to consolidate the Wolf God's rule, Dorn believes that the time has come again to play this card.

Using Rogue Traders who remain loyal to himself, the King in Inwit deployed dozens of stealth ships toward Segmentum Solar. Horus' forces, already on high alert, managed to destroy most of them, but one managed to reach its intended destination – the Solar System. As things that should never been known were broadcasted over all channels to all the people of Segmentum Solar, Dorn also made classified comms channels and encryptions known to the public as he, the Praetorian of Terra, accused Lorgar and the Wolf God of being twisted by religion and desecrating the Emperor's most important legacy – the Imperial Truth. Whatever the truth is, Dorn's slanderous comments have severely destabilised the Warmaster of Terra's own power base, forcing Horus to send his son Falkus Kibre "Widowmaker" to remain on Terra with half of the Justaerin, to provide security and suppression forces for the First Lord, Malcador.

Humiliated and furious, Horus and Lorgar decided to strike with the force of lightning. With the mighty Furious-Abyss class battleships spearheading the fleet, the Storm Fleet suffered a heavy blow when its flagship, the Tribune, was sunk with her commander Yonnad on board. Countless thousands of mass-produced Raven Guard perished with their trueblood brothers and Imperial Fists cousins. But when the Warmaster arrived in the Inwit system, he discovered that it was surprisingly empty. The Luna Wolves quickly seized the fabled Dark Age dockyards in Inwit orbit, but strange, albeit disastrous news came to Horus' attention: the main force of the Storm Emperor struck at the Word Bearer's secondary fleet and the Alpha Legion in a two-pronged attack before marshalling behind the Warmaster's fleet and sailing straight for Terra, led by none other than Rogal Dorn himself on the _Phalanx_!

The Wolf God was doing well on all other fronts. Alpharius harrowed the Salamanders' own family, forcing them to abandon their defences and meet the Alpha Legion in open battle; despite the Eighteenth's slight physical advantage over the equally massive Alpha Legionnaires, the Hydra dictated the flow of battle with armoured vehicles and carried the day easily. As for the so-called fleet, it was mostly a decoy made up of disguised civilian ships. Fulgrim duelled with Jaghatai after a series of indecisive skirmishes, only to break each other's sword and thus continuing the stalemate despite the White Scars' numerical advantage. Ex-Legion Master Lhorke of the World Eaters, entombed in a Contemptor Dreadnought, achieved a mutual kill with Nassit Amir, the Flesh Tearer, while Delvarus slew Thoros, also of the Blood Angels. Sejanus and Little Horus continue their march towards the Gothic Sector, while Perturabo, made aware of the Olympian rebellion, was more than a little perturbed as he sailed home to set things straight. Only Horus, astonished by the ex-Praetorian's strategy, was left dumbfounded above Inwit's empty orbital dockyards.

From the empty dockyard's shadows emerged first the boom of bolters, then the warriors of the Nineteenth. The elaborate trap was sprung as the _Shadow of the Emperor_ herself came into view, leading the elite of the Raven Guard fleet. Corax had agreed to decapitate the Terran pretender so as to support his ally Dorn's claim to the title of Emperor, and he did it in the way he knew best – striking from the shadows.

None would doubt that the Raven Guard chose the best opportunity to strike, but there are reasons why Horus is the Warmaster of Terra – tactical acumen first and foremost among them. The battle was already lost for the Raven Guard when the _Vengeful Spirit_ shrunk back into a safe position between the _Trisagion_ and the _Blessed Lady_ , while the other ships took up a defensive position against the ambush. Corax was not one to give up, however. Leading his Mor Deythan to the exposed _Fidelitas Lex_ and ordering Arkhas Fal to find a way to the _Vengeful Spirit_ with the Shadow Wardens, the Raven Guard struck at the scrambling Terran fleet. Corax hoped to slay the Urizen before he joined forces with his Terran gene-sons to destroy Horus.

At around the same time, Lion El'Jonson, hell-bent on claiming his rightful position as Warmaster of the Imperium, did not fall for his counterpart's ruse. When twenty thousand Horusian loyalist Night Lords under Sevatar attempted to seize Caliban in a surprise assault, they were first bogged down by Dark Angels Neophytes under Luther, then stranded planetside as the Furious-Abyss class vessel _Loyalty Eternal_ decimated their fleet. In the ensuing massacre, Malcharion escaped, Var Jahan was slain, and the Prince of Crows was taken alive after slaying many champions of the First, such as Nemiel. It is believed that the Interrogator-Chaplains are practicing their art on Sevatarion, deep in the bowels of the _Loyalty Eternal_. The surviving Night Lords scattered yet again, and this time may be the last.

The Alpha Legion was more fruitful, securing intel on the newest advances in the First Legion's composition. The Knight King (confusion of this term with the Night King is subject to summary Interrogation) under advice of his Chief Librarian Zahariel, started to build an army made up of psykers and only psykers, referred to as the Grey Knights. When put together with Knight Houses loyal to the Warmaster of Caliban and un-specialised battle-brothers, the old Hexagrammaton of the First was fully expanded into the nine Orders of Angels in accordance with ancient Terran myth: the Deathwing, the Ravenwing and the Dreadwing were the First Sphere; the Firewing, the Stormwing and the Ironwing were the Second Sphere; the Silverwing (Grey Knights), the Bronzewing (Knight Titans) and the Greenwing (rookies) were the Third Sphere.

Corax managed to cut through the Word Bearers to his brother, but the Space Sharks were faring badly against the Luna Wolves. Despite fighting in the confines of a void battleship, Ezekyle Abaddon and Garviel Loken led their brothers in a deadly game of hide-and-seek against the invisible boarders, securing the bridge until Arkhas Fal himself emerged behind their defences, only to struck down by Horus' talon. After clearing this major threat, Horus left his sons to defend their mothership as he himself departed to rescue his brother – just in time as Corax was about to deliver the killing blow. But with one swing of Worldbreaker – the Emperor's gift to Horus – Corvus Corax was sent flying into the interstellar void, and his fate remains unknown. In the void, superior firepower destroyed the _Shadow of the Emperor_ , marking complete failure of the Raven Guard's assault. Less than five thousand Raven Guard escaped the battlefield, and the number would have been less if Horus had the time to clear up the battlefield. Alas, the Wolf God did not have the luxury. A detachment consisting of the _Blessed Lady_ and her escorts, under command of Iacton "the Half-Heard" Qurze, was sent to Deliverance to destroy any hope of the Raven Guard resurgent, while the main fleet set course for Terra with all haste.

The mighty Retribution Fleet gathered behind Horus' main fleet, easily crushing the Warmaster's mortal auxilia on its way to Terra. The Imperial Fists were not only experienced in fleet warfare and had better, Astartes-exclusive vessels, but they also had a mighty relic – the _Phalanx_ , forming a solid spearpoint for the golden spear cruising towards Terra. Though Malcador dispatched agents to delay the Storm Emperor, and Horusian loyalist attempted to distract the Retribution Fleet with hit-and-run tactics, the Lord and his lady the _Phalanx_ still arrived in orbit over Terra before any other Primarch. Scouts report the coming of Angron and the _Conqueror_ , encouraging Dorn to press his temporary advantage to quickly take the Throneworld. As the golden spear pushed through the Terran fleet's thin line of defence, however, they were unpleasantly surprised from behind when the battle-barge _Hammer of Terra_ , along with her commander Captain Pertinax, her crew and her escorts, was atomised by a death ray from Mars. Volkite weaponry taken to insane extremes, Mars erected its massive insult to the Seventh Legion in the form of its land-based anti-vessel defence array.

Realising their hubris, the concentrated golden fleet was forced to separate as the Primarch led the assault on Terra, while the _Eternal Crusader_ led a contingent to Mars to silence the defence array. The Siege of Terra itself was the watershed of Dorn's career: orchestrating the Retribution Fleet in a symphony of fire and brimstone in Terran orbit, between the pulses of both Terran and Martian defence arrays; shells and energy blasts lit up the atmosphere, yet outshone by burning, plummeting wrecks of warships; plasma torpedoes exploded on the Imperial Palace's power shields, exploding in a shower of iridescent sparks, lighting up the yellow-clad Imperial Fists and gold-clad Custodes fighting for control of every gap in the walls. Despite encircling most of the Horusian forces in the Imperial Palace, Dorn, who had no allies in the Martian Parliament, felt bitter as his sons fell by the thousands before Titans and Ordinati.

When the rear-guard fleet reported Warp signatures of Horus' and the reinforcing Angron's fleet incoming, Dorn led his templars on a last assault to conquer the Imperial Palace, which he designed not so long ago. To the Golden Son's frustration, Horus had made his own modifications to Dorn's masterpiece, making the Dorn's battle-plans partially obsolete. As the Justaerin and the Custodes blasted at the Imperial Fists, their more discreet allies also joined the fray. At Malcador's command, the temples of the Officio Assassinorum struck from the shadows, disorienting their command structure, even slaying Archamus, the last of the first-generation Imperial Fists. Even though Dorn forcibly penetrated into the depths of the Palace with his sheer Primarch-level prowess, he did not make it to the Throne room before he was forcibly dragged onto a Thunderhawk and carried off Terra by his gene-sons, with Horus hot on their heels.

With the sacrifice of Captain Efried and his detachment, Dorn was escorted to the heavily damaged _Phalanx_ by his Huscarls, now under command of Kestros, and fled before the onslaught of the Red Angel and the Warmaster towards Segmentum Obscurus. Dorn' forces were severely depleted after the Siege of Terra, in which he nearly won. Half of his fleet and more than half of his gene-sons were lost in this battle. Dorn did not let his frustration go unmarked: Hy Brasil, a semi-autonomous and prosperous polity on Terra, was completely destroyed by orbital bombardment in the battle, and most of the Imperial Palace proper was little more than molten slag and adamantium wrecks, while the rest of Terra more closely resembled deserts, as the buildings covering the bare ground were destroyed. Mars looked quite similar to what it was like before colonisation of mankind, as most of the planet was wrecked by cyclonic torpedoes unleashed in the Seventh Legion's last barrage. This would have far-reaching implications for the Martian Empire.

Fabius Bile, who had been off to God-Emperor-knows-where, returned with eleven enhanced warriors from the hundred applicants Lorgar granted him. Bile claimed that these "New Men" were more than a match for the Thunder Warriors, who had given even the ferocious Twelfth a nightmare, and may be on par with the Custodes themselves. Lorgar granted these warriors, led by an armour-skinned and winged Argel Tal, the title of Gal Vorbak, the Blessed Sons.

As the Warmaster conducted the rebuilding of Terra – adding many temples dedicated to the Emperor and himself in the process – he also received news from the northern front. The Lion, dual-wielding swords, cut off Ferrus Manus' right arm where the wyrm-metal ends along with his hammer, Forgebreaker. However, Sejanus and Aximand returned with four of the six Blackstone Fortresses, managing to intercept the fleet of the First as it prepared to destroy that of the Tenth. In the ensuing battle, the Dark Angels' _Chimaera_ , a Star Fort, was destroyed by the combined beam of the xenos relics. The Lion, wary of the strange constructs' power, retreated under plasma cover to fight another day. Perturabo, who had aired Horus a couple of insults in his spare time, grew tired of playing world of tanks with his rebellious sons, and chose to bathe Olympia in a shower of Exterminatus-class weapons before leaving with his loyal sons in his Legion's fleet, to set up shop on some new world.

Reports from Tempestus and Ultima followed shortly. Iacton Qruze successfully destroyed the Raptor cloning facilities inside of the Ravenspire, but he himself was slain by Remus Ventanus of the Ultramarines, recently promoted to Chapter Master after defeating the Orks in the Battle of Calth. Unable to challenge Sor Talgron, who was securely nestled in the _Blessed Lady_ , Remus Ventanus and his co-commander Aeonid Thiel, another hero of the Battle of Calth, did not attempt to take Deliverance, opting to raid the Ravenspire's relics before falling back to Bakka, the Ultramarines' new stronghold in Segmentum Tempestus.

Battling the Beast to a standstill with his cobalt tides, Roboute Guilliman seized the opportunity of Dorn's assault to make a broadcast on the Imperial Truth to the entire Segmentum with psychic help from the Thousand Sons. And soon, its text was spread throughout the galaxy. In it, the Primarch recalled the achievements of the Great Crusade, of the light of reason the Emperor spread across recovered worlds, and attacked Horus, who betrayed the Emperor's dream by returning to superstition and arrogance. Guilliman called for all those who are loyal to the Emperor to stand by him and fight with him, for the Imperial Truth and for human civilisation. This speech was doubly effective when coupled with Dorn's black reports, and Imperium Secundus gained beneficial popular opinion along with more concrete support after this broadcast. Bakka's fall to Imperium Secundus was a significant result of the speech, which moved the soldiers to give up arms and embrace the conquerors in cobalt, led by Remus Ventanus. Guilliman transferred the original garrison to the Eastern Fringe for good measure.

On the Tempestus-Ultima front, Phratus Auguston, First Chapter Master and famous commander of the Ultramarines, led tens of thousands of his brothers to reclaim Nocturne from the Alpha Legion. And unknown to nearly all, a similar force under Tetrarch Tauro Nicodemus set sail for the Iron Warriors' fleet under Perturabo…

Round 2 ends. Rogal Dorn, the Emperor of Storms, out.

Round 3 begins with Lion, Roboute and Horus standing.

The die is cast. One will rule the galaxy.

* * *

 _To Tomosada: Ultramarine is a shade of cobalt of course!_

 _As for some other questions you raised, well first I will stress I am the translator._

 _Leman Russ. Yes he is broken as **** on the table but this ain't Game of Thrones X HH tabletop IN SPESS. I expected Leman to die early on and though being soloed by Angron is kind of disgraceful for the Emperor's Executioner, it isn't unreasonable. If someone decides to use this work as a framework for something more detailed, he/she can always have Lorgar blessing Angron with the Emperor's power before he goes off to solo Russ or something like that._

 _Primarchs can be permanently deformed, though the only canon example I can pull out of my head is Roboute's scar. Y'know, that one that kept him in stasis for almost 10,000 years._

 _For the Ultramarines and their allies, they hold something like the lower half of Ultima Segmentum and parts of the upper half in their grasp, while Horus will hold an area of roughly the same size by the end of this chapter even though he has three Segmentae (Solar, Pacificus, Tempestus). That does not leave the Lion's Iron League, which holds most of Segmentum Obscurus and some parts of upper Ultima Segmentum, with many options._

 _The Furious-Abyss class ship called the Furious Abyss is surely something perfectly normal?_

 _I'd say that any machine-related nonsense is due to machine spirits, disregarding whether computers would have machine spirits in the grim darkness of the far future where there is only war..._


	4. Round 3

**Round 3**

 _"Analysis and ponderance cannot replace action. Not killing however, is by no means staying idle. It is unquestionable that the universe is charging into the future, and those that cannot keep up will lose themselves in the dust."_

 _-Tetrarch Valentus Dolor of the Ultramarines_

 **Dramatis Personae Majoris**

The Warmaster of Terra, Horus Lupercal

The Warmaster in the North, Lion El'Jonson

The King in the East, Roboute Guilliman

Mag Uruk Thraka, the Beast

* * *

After two spectacular wars involving surprise assaults, betrayals and strange strategies, the remaining three lords came to an unspoken ceasefire, as silent as the beach before a hurricane sweeps ashore. Horus, once in control of the most Astartes, has suffered the brunt of losses in the previous engagements, and needs some time to recover his Legions before he could go on the offensive once more; Guilliman was tied down by the rampaging Beast in his domains, leaving his allies to secure the western front; and the Lion, with the least number of Astartes, was cooking up other whatnot with his close ally Perturabo, hoping to turn tables on Horus. The fall of Russ and Dorn has made one fact glaringly obvious: the conquest of one world is of little importance in wars between Astartes, and extermination of the enemy was what truly decides wars. All three contenders to the Golden Throne prepared to engage their opponents in a war of annihilation, and all are trying to make sure they have the advantage before that happens.

As the galaxy's most prominent lords of war reorganised, drilled, recalled faraway detachments and changed their troop deployments, the Mechanicum was even more active than usual. As Lion delivered _Forgebreaker_ to the Lord of Iron, Kelbor Hal melted Ferrus' severed arm and created a scintillating silver cape tougher than any clothing mankind has made for his Warmaster with the liquid metal. Though some Dark Angels remained at the front lines to feign difficulty at breaking through the Blackstone defences, the Lord of the First had came up with a more drastic solution: at his command, the Dark Mechanicum (which are not touched by Chaos in any way, for Magnus has been holding the Dark Gods at bay since the very beginning) was trying to install a weapon capable of shattering a world with one shot, the aptly named Planet Killer, on the _Loyalty Eternal_. On the same ship, another great breakthrough for the Dark Angels occurred: The Legion's Interrogator-Chaplains finally cracked open Sevatar's mouth, gaining his psychic insight on the position of his father. Lion decided to hunt down the Night Haunter himself for two reasons at this news – reinforcing his relationship with the Lord of Angels, and to take the honour of killing the one who started the bloody game in the first place. After setting up Luther as his stand-in on the _Invincible Reason_ by giving him the Lion Helm, Lion quietly slipped away with a small fleet led by the xenotech-equipped _Iron Duke_ towards Baal Secundus. Meanwhile, the Alpha Legion under Omegon, which had been providing the Iron League with intelligence and counter-intelligence services, began to funnel materiel to the strongholds of the League.

The _Blessed Lady_ managed to rout Dornian loyalists gathered around Barbarus and rounded up Death Guard remnants under Captain Garro, slightly replenishing the losses sustained by the Warmaster. As for the elite but still mortal Old Hundred regiments, such as the Solar Auxilia and the Lucifer Blacks, Horus has began to expand their numbers in preparation for meatgrinder wars, instead of sacrificing his precious Astartes. Fulgrim was vexed by being unable to best his brother Jaghatai, and raised the amount of Astartes carrying sonic weaponry despite the protests of Lord Commander Vespasian. Though many Knight Houses have sworn fealty to the self-styled Knight King Lion El'Jonson, Horus was still in command of the Mechanicum's mighty military, for promises of sharing the things stored in the Dark Angels' secret archaeotech vaults was as good a promise as sharing STC templates. In return, though Russ' corpse was maimed beyond any usefulness by Angron, the Death Lord's could still serve some purpose; the Mechanicum, determined to prove their loyalty, transformed the corpse into some sort of enigmatic biological weapon, the only fact being that the red button was handed to Horus, the Wolf God. Meanwhile, the vats of Luna were bustling and bubbling with gene-seeds under cultivation as more and more Aspirants joined the ranks of the Sons of Horus; the Forge Complexes of Mars spat out war machine after war machine, and sealed vaults on Terra and elsewhere were opened. More Gal Vorbak walked off Bile's operating tables; Ferrus replaced his left arm with a bionic one equipped with arcane weaponry; and with much effort, Lorgar and his missionaries placated the masses while Malcador talked with the high and haughty in shrouded rooms, ones they never left if they did not shake off the 'lies' Dorn had sown during his invasion. The inheritance that the Emperor bequeathed Horus was being used to slaughter his own brothers, and the most important one of all, the Golden Throne, was taking up so much of Magnus' concentration that the mighty Alpha-plus psyker was completely unaware of the bloodshed that engulfed the galaxy.

As for Roboute, he was busy employing the Pharos' arcane abilities to negotiate with Perturabo himself, who was aboard the _Iron Blood_. Though Tauro Nicodemus managed to secure an unofficial ceasefire by a careful display of force, the Primarch of the Thirteenth had other, far-reaching concerns. Though Guilliman's massive assets meant that he was capable of simply destroying the Beast by meat grinding, Horus, who held most of the Emperor's relics, would let the realm of the Ultramarines bleed, but even if the cobalt-clad prevailed, they would only get the throne of an Imperium asunder and a second psychic beacon. This was not attractive to the practical Battle-King at all, as Imperium Secundus, which stretches from Nocturne to Sotha and from Baal to San Leor, was already a galactic superpower in its own right, and the Emperor has already passed away; while on Horus' side, his seizing of the title of Warmaster and his being the _de facto_ Emperor has earned him the permanent enmity of Lion and Perturabo, their only differences being _how_ exactly they should execute him once they have defeated Lupercal. In light of their respective positions, even though neither side was fond of the other, Imperium Secundus and the Iron League formed a grudging partnership after Perturabo gave up his core holdings around the destroyed Olympia and Guilliman seceded the Cryptus system, near the Blood Angels' homeworld of Baal, which had supercooled crystal rings that could be used as natural defences and a massive solar power array from a bygone age simply referred to as "the Great Mirror". After smoothing out details such as the exchange of manpower and materiel, this pact has solved the border strife between the two factions, and more importantly, the two have reached an agreement regarding Horus and Terra: Lion, Warmaster of Imperium Primus, and Perturabo, the Praetorian of Terra, would lead the main force in the coming war, and the lands of Horus will fall to the two; in return, Imperium Secundus, and its regent Guilliman, would receive a fair share of the Emperor's inheritance. Two beacons mean two Imperia. As the armies re-deployed following the signing of the pact, Ahzek Ahriman, leader of the Thousand Sons that had flocked to Imperium Secundus, with his fellow Cult Magisters, prepared to unleash a massive psychic power using the rituals Magnus had prepared as a failsafe, as recorded in his book, to destroy the Beast once and for all.

Later generations have no idea how Horus managed to sense the unspeakable alliance between the Iron League and Imperium Secundus but judging by their respective positions on the galactic plane and his relationships with the leading brothers of the two factions, any reasonable strategist could expect this turn of events to happen. Since the Warmaster of Terra has already gained a temporary advantage in number of arms, it would be much more reasonable to go on the offensive and engage them separately instead of waiting for his opponents to come for him. After considering his situation, Horus marshalled his forces towards Imperium Secundus – more specifically, Baal and his mightiest brother Sanguinius, along with the First and Ninth Legion forces in orbit there.

The Warmaster of Terra's aggressive counterattack has included most of the Sons of Horus, the World Eaters, the Word Bearers and the Emperor's Children, units from the Death Guard, the Alpha Legion and the Iron Hands, three of the four Blackstone Fortresses, six Titan Legions led by the Legio Mortis, aided by forces from the Ordo Reductor, Skitarii, and elite mortal regiments. Some may contest the wisdom of mobilization of such a scale, as it would certainly alert the enemies of Lupercal, but that was his strategy: by marshalling such a force, he wants to force the other Primarchs and armies into one, decisive battle. If he could kill Sanguinius, arguably most powerful of all the Primarchs, in the process, that would also be a favourable bonus.

In the eastern warzone, things were slightly different. Roboute Guilliman was aware of his enemy's uniqueness. On one hand, these fugitives of Ullanor have gained excellent equipment by raiding Astartes between battle-lines; on the under hand, he knew that he couldn't out-dakka the Orks in space like the Imperial Fists once could, or the Dark Angels, not with their Attack Moon. In order to maximize his advantages in the coming battle, the Lord of the Five Hundred Worlds planned a daring assault, using one of Ultramar's most important Forge Worlds as bait: Tigrus.

No matter how the Orks detected it, they had arrived at the seemingly defenceless world of Tigrus with their great WAAAGH. Though the Ultramarines fleet cannot take out the Ork fleet in a battle of annihilation, they had created a sphere of denial around Tigrus along with the Imperial Armada, ensuring that even Attack Moons cannot break out on their own: the Orks learned that after having three destroyed by Ultramarine boarding parties. Forced to attack Tigrus, the Orks sustained losses by anti-orbital batteries installed by Guilliman, suffering setbacks as boarding roks were destroyed in mid-air. Orks on the ground were impeded by heavy armour forces such as the Aurora Chapter, staining the ground green with every foot gained. And as a bell tolls the death knell, the sun was eclipsed by two massive ships – the Ultramarine Gloriana-class battleships, _Macragge's Honour_ and _Living Truth_ , that could have heralded the coming of one and only person: Roboute Guilliman.

The Primarch of the Thirteenth took advantage of another trait ingrained in the greenskins: they lust for war just as a hirquiticke lusts for coitus. As its WAAAGH was denied a propa' fight over and over again, the Beast needs a quick victory to quell the rising tendency of rebellion among his leading Nobs. When it noticed the ships under repair in Tigrus' orbital dockyard, the Beast ordered the Attack Moon to press forward and blast the ships into the cold void before the ships could disengage from their repair harnesses. This command would lead to the fall of the Beast.

Two Attack Moons filled to bursting with Orks braved the hail of Imperial ordnance as was da orky way until they entered tellyportin' range and –

Secundus-affiliated Mechanicum activated a trap reverse-engineered from teknorklogy. A superweapon array installed on Tigrus and its moon locked on the Attack Moons' position and launched a massive gravity blow, rending an Attack Moon apart instantly while destroying the engine of the other. As the relative position of Tigrus and its moon changed, the superweapon had only one effective shot, but that one shot had already ruined WAAAGH the Beast, giving the Astartes a chance to board the Attack Moon and slay the Beast.

Thallax cohorts of the Ordo Reductor and Skitarii surged forth from the dockyard, engaging Orkz that were still alive in brutal void combat. Imperial ships slid gracefully from their harnesses that have been long since disengaged as their brought their torpedoes to bear on the surviving Attack Moon. The _Judicious Truth_ and the _Star of Ultramar_ were already severely damaged to the point of being incapable of remaining on the front lines, but the battle barges' cover gave Guilliman the chance that he needed to play his trumps: two coffin ships carrying two Imperator Titans – the _Iax Iaxtus_ and the _Umbra –_ reached deploying distance, protected by strike cruisers. The two walking cities braved their Ork counterparts as they smashed and pulverized a landing zone into existence, allowing the Skitarii and Invictarii contained within their legs to join in the battle. More orbital support came in the form of the Fulmentarus, dedicated shock troopers clad in Terminator armour, finally clearing the way for the main Imperial force to land. Guilliman observed from orbit the results of his decision to hold back the Salamanders. Since their defeat on Nocturne, Guilliman has made extensive use of the Eighteenth Legion's unparalleled artisanship, putting them under the care of Eikos Lamiad, Tetrarch of Konor, to further the interests of the Imperium with their craft. Now the Orkz were being pushed back, and the Beast, who had long since prided itself on arming its WAAAGH with Astartes equipment, despaired as it realized its enemy not only had a better tactical mind, he also had more soldiers, better weapons, and to top it off, the astronomical resources necessary to support both.

The green tide was drowned by the blue sea.

As the saying goes, 'fighting the Ultramarines is a terrible idea, but it gets worse when they have Titans'. The smooth execution of such an unconventional void-to-surface combat was reliant on the Ultramarines' rigid command structure, with the edges being smoothed out by the Primarch's own orders. Among the first landings were Damocles-pattern command Rhinos that provide battlefield comms. With Stormbirds and Thunderhawks raining death from the skies, the outlet of greenskin reinforcements was soon discovered. Guilliman himself led the assault towards the outlet, though the strike force would have been crushed by the Attack Moon's moving mountains had the _Iax_ not overloaded its plasma annihilators in a terrific explosion that destroyed the moving landscape. We have no way of knowing if Guilliman was reminded of the Dark Angels' Rangdan Xenocides, which cost them fifty thousand battle-brothers, but it was certain that when he stood face to face with the Beast surrounded by the corpses of his gene-sons, he would accept no negotiations.

So he chose to fire at the Beast's face, enraging it.

The WAAAGH energy surrounding the Beast was pushed to great heights as the Beast's rage grew, and sensing the build-up, Ahzek and his fellow Magisters prepared to launch their coup de grace: The Rubric. It was not modified to drain the WAAAGH, but to allow it to run free and unbridled. A race such as the Orkz needs order to be a viable threat to mankind.

And with the WAAAGH unleashed, all hell broke loose. The desire to kill all the treacherous Nobs, the desire to turn the Attack Moon into the largest Rokkit Moon evar, the desire to make a greater WAAAGH, these thoughts were twisted and amplified by the Rubric until da Orkz could not think straight. Weirdboyz exploded in bursts of green lightning, the Beast's guards turned on each other, and…weird stuff started to happen to the Beast. Seizing this chance, the strike force and the teleported Thousand Sons charged forward for the final strike.

Not many of the heroes who followed Guilliman (who was hospitalized afterwards) survived the final battle against the Beast. Thousand Sons survivors are limited to Ahriman himself and Hathor Maat of the Pavoni; of the Ultramarines, only a few Invictarii with their commander Drakus Gorod managed to make it out of the ruined battlefield. However, the greatest threat to Imperium Secundus was finally dealt with, and these survivors will witness the battle between the Warmasters….

* * *

 _T.N_

 _Hello! Sorry for the delay for this chapter. Please comment and/or follow, and if possible, join us at qq group 611893544!_


	5. Round 4

**Round 4**

 _"Victory makes any price acceptable. Failure makes any gain meaningless."_

 _-Triarch Forrix of the Iron Warriors_

 **Dramatis Personae Majoris**

Horus Lupercal, Heir to the Emperor, Warmaster of Terra, Lord of Segmentae Solar, Pacificus, and Tempestus

Lion El'Jonson, Heir to the Emperor, Warmaster of Imperium Primus, the Knight King

Roboute Guilliman, Overlord of Imperium Secundus, Bearer of the Living Truth

* * *

Horus' path of advance was obvious to the commanders of both the Imperium Primus and Secundus, but they were unsure of where the Warmaster of Terra would unleash his Wolves. He could turn to the galactic north and lay siege to Caliban before he reached Baal or turn to the nexus of Imperium Secundus' western defences – Chogoris. Lupercal had never lost a battle he commanded in person, demanding prudence and extensive preparations for his opponents with mere rumours of his approach.

Horus' immense force did win victory after victory as it advanced. Though Lorgar, Fulgrim and Ferrus were agitated by their setbacks, they obeyed the First Primarch's commands without question. Abaddon's proposal to hyper-arm Blackstone Fortresses was denied; instead, in the same fashion Lion uses his star forts, the Heir of the Emperor used them as mobile supply depots, using leap-frog tactics to keep the storage bays full of food, water and backup equipment, enabling him to push towards Baal at high speed. Interestingly, without his Butcher's Nails, Angron began one of Horus' most prudent commanders, so he was entrusted with guarding the force's left flank – the flank facing the Lion's forces.

On the allies' side, Lion, who was the Warmaster of Terra's greatest opponent, was busy keeping up with his winged brother by jetbike in their hunt for the Night Haunter. Though Captain Raldoron and Master Alajos both suggested giving up the hunt for preparing against Horus' incoming force, the Lion was relentless and deaf to all protests, while the Angel was not going to forgive his brother for the innocent he had slain on Baal. In the First Legion's emotionless, highly realistic records, the end of the hunt was very simple: the Lion's Grey Knights finally pinpointed Curze's position, and then the Blade Encarmine along with the Lion Sword pierced the Night Haunter. But his last words as he laughed to death were most important.

 _…Horus…and he comes for Baal._

Sanguinius and Lion's fragile consensus soon broke apart amidst shock and anger. The father of the Ninth called his sons home, while the Knight King opted to fight Horus in the void, mobile warfare being the First's strength. Just as Lion's stark black jetbike roared to life, the Lord of Angels, who was still very much enraged by Curze's last confession, flew over and chopped off a handle, forcing the Knight King to stop. In awe of his brother's prowess, the Warmaster of Imperium Primus turned back to discuss their respective battle plans.

As the high command of the allies were still trying to coordinate their operations, Horus has met his first challenge. After the Lion purged the First Legion of Terran sympathizers under Merir Astelan's leadership and proclaiming, "our loyalty will shine unblemished after the false Warmaster of Terra has been cast down", Luther and his knights of Caliban have their devotion to the Lion raised to nigh-zealous levels. That is why Luther was entrusted with the defence of Caliban itself, with the plan being using fleet movements to trick Horusian forces into a battle of annihilation around Medusa. Luther realized, however, that trying to initiate a battle of annihilation was something very impractical when the Red Angel is involved.

In light of this fact, Luther used a tactic akin to what was referred to in ancient Terran texts as 'Fabian'. He trailed the Warmaster's massive force while avoiding direct conflict, picking off isolated units such as hussars and poorly defended supply convoys instead. And to top it off, he scorched many planets to ashes, most of which lay within the realm of Imperium Primus. However, Luther was not as thorough in his execution of denying supplies to Lupercal's forces as his Primarch would be, and his subordinates, burning with the prideful fury of Calibanite knights, forced the Grand Master to protect their homeworld when the Sons of Horus and the Emperor's Children swerved from the force's main course. However, the detachment was merely a ruse; the true strike force under the Warmaster of Terra's personal command destroyed the First Legion relief force voyaging from Baal, with Master Alajos dying at the hands of First Captain Abaddon, and the Grand Master was left with no other choice but to go on the defensive.

Matters were not going smoothly on the Alpha Legion-guarded right flank, either. Whether Alpharius was pretending to be a loyalist of Horus or truly unsuited for head-on operations, the fact was that Master Phratus Auguston led his fellow Ultramarines in a successful re-taking of Nocturne, previously seized from the Salamanders by the Alpha Legion. In the void, the White Scars routed the Alpha Legion fleet in a short but intense battle, exposing the Death Guard, which was guarding the formation's rear, and the Warmaster of Terra's mortal auxiliaries, to the White Scar's remorseless showers of bombardment, with Nathaniel Garro brought low by Qin Xa, Captain of the Keshig, and the _Fidelitas Lex_ sunk the _Swordstorm_ , albeit not before being sunk by the _Swordstorm_ 's own last torpedo volley. Though the two _Furious Abyss_ -class vessels were able lead the counterattack that drove the White Scars' fleet into retreat, the Terran force's rear was already ravaged by the assault, with millions of Imperial Army and Skitarii sent flying into the void, and Jaghatai Khan himself broadcasting, 'that was a good hunt', from aboard the _Lance of Heaven_ as he cruised away _._

Frustrated by this surprise assault, Sejanus was named by his gene-sire as the late Garro's replacement, while the Primarchs were bunched more closely together: Ferrus Manus and Fulgrim were reassigned as the vanguards to Baal, while Angron and Lorgar were dispatched to deal the 'false Warmaster' Lion El'Jonson. As for Alpharius…the Warmaster of Terra has came up with a suitable task for the father of the Hydra, whatever his misgivings about its many heads and loyalty issues.

Despite separating his forces, the Warmaster of Terra still has numerical advantages in both the northern and eastern theatres. The World Eaters and the Word Bearers, with the might of the _Trisagion_ , the _Blessed Lady_ and the Gal Vorbak, were capable of handling even a surprise assault from the forces of Imperium Primus, since it was a more compact force than the Host of the Warmaster; in the eastern theatre, Horus planned to kill Sanguinius with aid from 'Mortarion' while the Gorgon and the Phoenician dealt with the forces of Imperium Secundus. So long as Horus could score a Primarch kill, he would have secured a strategic victory. However, his chain of victories has made him underestimate his counterpart – or it could be said that the Emperor-in-waiting had underestimated those who oppose his claim over all of the Emperor's legacy, the galaxy.

Arriving home one step ahead of Horus' forces, the Knight King chose to fight defensively, unlike his customary style of warping and punching through the enemy. Organising his massive fleet around his Ramiles-class star forts, the Warmaster of Imperium Primus slowly chipped away at the invading force with harassing attacks by light vessels and other attack craft while carefully dancing his fleet around his opponents, covering his own vulnerable positions while probing at those of the enemy. In this waltz of death where a cool head is of the essence, Lorgar finally snapped, causing an opening to appear between the ships under his command and those under Angron's.

The star fort _Griffin_ did not give Angron a chance to seal the breach, warping directly between the Terran fleets as attack craft poured from its hull, sinking ships much the way man-eating fish tear chunks of flesh out of their unfortunate victims. Lorgar attempted to manoeuvre his massive capital ships into position and stem the flow of cruisers and destroyers emerging between his fleet and Angron's, yet the Lion had been counting on this move. The _Loyalty Eternal_ finally became visible to all as its planet killer cannon came online, destroying her sister ship the _Blessed Lady_ with one apocalyptic shot to her reactor core, and taking out the _Trisagion_ 's escort fleet with the resulting explosion. Lorgar, furious and nearly shaken off his feet by the explosion, saw the Dark Angel's fleet arriving on scene through blips on his bridge projector, led by the Invincible Reason, and bellowed out the order to counterattack.

Vexing for the Word Bearers was the fact that their precious, elite battle-brothers – the Gal Vorbak – lost half their strength when the _Blessed Lady_ sunk, and light-seconds separated the melee-oriented warriors from their enemies, who also had the upper hand in firing range and ship speed. With the Terran fleet's formation shaken by the _Griffin_ 's nigh-suicidal attack, not even the _Trisagion_ 's valour could turn the tide of battle. The massive capital ship had yet to recharge its void shields, depleted from the death of the _Blessed Lady_ , before nova cannons and lances ripped chunks out of its hull, opening the way for the Dark Angel's answer to the Gal Vorbak – Knight Titans. The _Furious-Abyss_ class vessel's massive landing pads, chambers and corridors became battlefields where the Knights could fire their devastating weapons at will, with their chainswords and siege claws wreaking havoc on the internal structure of the ship. The Gal Vorbak, more than a match for their Astartes cousins in close quarters combat, can only face death as clawed iron feet trample down on their insignificant forms. When a Knight was felled, however, it was still more of a disaster for the crew than the boarders, with exploding titans of metal dragging thousands of cultists screaming praises to the Emperor to their deaths in the cold, uncaring void.

Lorgar, forced to abandon ship, was escorted by his closest companions led by Argel Tal to the battleship _Destiny's Hand_ to continue command, but soon the concentrated signal traffic going to and coming from the vessel revealed the Primarch's position. Lion personally led the boarding action, with Holguin and the Deathwing following his every step. Argel Tal led his fellow Gal Vorbak in a last, bold counter-charge against those who wish to see his gene-sire dead, even managing to slay the equally heroic Holguin by virtue of Bile's geneto-arcana, but he lasted less than thirty seconds before the mighty Warmaster of Imperium Primus. The great Bearer of the Imperial Creed reached new heights in his fiery oratory as his brother took step after step towards his lone, surrounded form.

If only the Lion was willing to listen, Lorgar may have survived. Instead, the Lion Sword drew the blood of another Primarch. It drank deeply.

To the Terran fleet's right, Angron found himself faced with four _Ramiles_ -class star forts and the _Rock_ , a ridiculously large planetoid apparently assembled from several Space Hulks, deployed as a sort of DISTRACTION CARNIFEX by the Dark Angels, while behind their hulking cover the _Loyalty Eternal_ continued to tear out ships with its unstoppable planet killer cannon. The World Eaters' fleet, led by their enormous flagship the _Conqueror_ , one of the largest among the already behemoth _Glorianas_ , managed to open a bloody path to the remaining Word Bearers and attempt a fighting retreat under Lotara Sarrin's guidance. Lion, who had no intention of letting Angron escape, ordered the Dreadwing and Stormwing to board the damaged vessels, but as World Eaters and Word Bearers were struggling against the Dreadwing's forbidden weapons, Centurion Delvarus led a counter-boarding action and finally gave the Terran fleet an opening to escape by slaying Dreadwing commander Farith Redloss, who was directing his brothers from afar, though he did not make it back, being slain by Captain-Paladin Corswain.

Angron was defeated.

When Horus received reports from Fulgrim and Ferrus of the First Legion's disposition over Baal, he began to wonder if the Lion was already vying for the position of Warmaster even before the triumph of Ullanor. Though his main forces must be pitted against Lorgar and Angron, a significant number of Dark Angel vessels, led by two abnormally fast battleships, were covering the Blood Angels' flank – the designs harken back to the early days, indicating that these ancient vessels, which were intended to be scuppered, have actually been quietly flowing into the Dark Angels' dockyards, preparing for another chance at deployment, when numbers could make a difference, such as in this conflict, the battle over Baal. Silently cursing himself for not paying attention to the fate of those vessels scheduled for scuppering, Horus decided to at least make sure that the ships that have come were destroyed. The battle began with the Iron Hands and Emperor's Children, at their Warmaster's command, moved against the Blood Angels and their allies.

Just as Horus had expected, his angelic brother would not give up the world that shaped him even when hard pressed by two Astartes Legions. The first barrage came in the form of torpedoes from Mechanicum vessels attached to the vanguard, surprising the Blood Angels, and they were even more shocked when they realised that the torpedoes were not killing devices when readouts showed that their homeworld's atmospheric radiation levels dropped drastically. The Warmaster of Terra was not here to terraform Baal, however: he was preparing for a massed drop assault by his mortal forces. As Alpharius led his sons and another Mechanicum detachment to tie up the Dark Angels, Lupercal let the enigmas fight while his own sons began covering the descent of drop ships, successfully attracting the attention of the allied fleet. The drop ships were merely decoys, however; their hulls empty save a skeleton Servitor crew.

As the allies' anti-orbital defences were distracted by the sacrificed drop ships, Horus began his real deployment, sending down his Titan Legions and an Astartes force led by 'Mortarion'. The Blood Angels mounted a ferocious attack to destroy the bold and foolish landing force, but with inferior Titan numbers and their fleet incapable of gaining orbital supremacy, the situation was not in favour of the allies.

In the nick of time, the _Iron Duke_ activated its xenos device in the cover of her escort fleet. The Iron Warriors' fleet arrived on scene, smashing both Alpha Legion ships and Basilikon Astra craft aside. The Hammer of Olympia's fearsome lady, the _Iron Blood_ , proudly cruised at the head of these newcomers, her massive hull, also a giant among the Glorianas, boasted her master's proudest void armament designs, some deemed heretical by the Mechanicum. The Fourth wasted no time in greetings before they opened fire on the Warmaster's forces, while Perturabo lead over a hundred vessels, consisting of battle barges, strike cruisers, and their escorts to the surface of Baal – after all, if the enemy has landed, then it is the Iron Warriors' way to bombard them with cannons deployed on the surface, made possible by mechanical precision in landing to give them the upper hand when the surface battle starts.

This battle, which would be referred to as the Drop Site Massacre in later historical records, has entered a heated, frenzied, and entirely chaotic state. Both Horus and the allies were trying to get reinforcements to the surface, while denying the other site control of space, causing some tactics never seen before and after the battle to be used, such as Titans opening their coffin ships to open fire on the enemy before entering the atmosphere; vessels to badly damaged to re-engage void battle sacrificing themselves to blast into enemy landing forces; and the _Iron Blood_ sinking her sister _Beta_ by warping right next to her and slamming into her bridge. The Blackstone Fortresses managed to inflict heavy losses on the Iron Warriors' fleet, but the sons of Perturabo fear him over any other, making their morale unshakable.

Ferrus Manus and Fulgrim were forced to advance towards the Iron Warriors' fortified position while enduring their disciplined artillery barrages. It seems that the Iron Warriors shared the Dark Angels' penchant for caring nothing about their allies, shelling the IIIrd and Xth when the IXth was engaging them. Standing radiant and majestic in the battlefield was Sanguinius himself, seemingly invulnerable to snipers and bolters as he hacked and slashed with sword and spear. 'Mortarion' advanced relentlessly, but he was lagging behind the other two Primarchs, who have marshalled their own Terminator retinue in an attempt to take on the Lord of Angels with the advantage of numbers.

It was a viable battle plan if they were facing the Ninth alone, but Perturabo himself has arrived on the battlefield with his personal Shadowsword _Tormentor_. Deploying his Iron Havoc squads and Tyrant Siege Terminators to support his allies' precarious position, the Primarch of the IVth began to deploy Lion's gift to him at the very beginning of the war. At Perturabo's command, the Ordinati were powered up, and he inputted the target coordinates himself with his usual callous logic.

One shot was all it took to wipe the glorious Phoenician and his pristine Terminators from auspexes. After the brilliant flash's afterimage disappeared with the smoke, Perturabo gazed at the point of impact through his Shadowsword's auspexes again, the smoke clearing to reveal one remaining figure struggling to stand up with the support of his sword, his silver hair ruffled and burnt from his near-death experience.

 _Tormentor_ spat once from its volcano cannon. Not a thing rose from the clearing smoke this time.

Screaming with long pent-up emotions, Ferrus launched a techno-arcane shot at the machine that murdered his brother, shutting it off. Unperturbed, Perturabo exited the silent vehicle with his Apolakron battle-automata guards, holding Forgebreaker in one hand, and turned towards the Primarch who was, strictly speaking, more machine than man. A resounding clang marked the clash of hammer and scythe as the Lord of Iron duelled 'Mortarion'. Ferrus charged towards their position, only to be intercepted by a livid Sanguinius, and the second duel erupted between a murderous angel and his equally murderous brother.

Losing his temper after being denied orbital domination for too long, Abaddon knocked out 'Little Horus' Aximand who adamantly protested his decision and gave the order for powering up the Blackstone Fortresses to end this battle once and for all by one combined shot from three of those mighty ancient constructs, which could hopefully erase Baal from the face of the galaxy, and the two enemy Primarchs too. Seeing the tell-tale signs of the superweapon preparing to fire, Captain Raldoron was caught by a jolt of inspiration. He must find the recording of the Night Haunter's last words and play it at the right time…he must seize the right moment…when the Blackstone Fortress was on the cusp of firing… _Play._

 _"Horus killed the Emperor!"_

 _"Horus killed the Emperor!"_

 _"Horus killed the Emperor!"_

The master of ordnance on the Blackstone Fortress trembled involuntarily at the scratching, hoarse message, skewing the target coordinates. The destructive beam of energy passed through the Baal system and tore into the solar panel array in the nearby Cryptus system. Having passed through vast distances, the power of the beam was too weak to damage the Necrontyr product, but it was enough to scramble its normal workings, causing a solar wind.

The artificial solar wind scattered the grappling forces, forcing them to withdraw and regroup at a safe distance. On the ground, Perturabo could only watch as "Mortarion" escaped through some psychic means unknown to him. Ferrus, injured in his battle with the Angel, was fatally injured by the Sarrisanata when Alpharius ambushed his unsuspecting brother. The lord of the Tenth did not manage to leave any last words of warning as he bled to his death from a wound that refused to heal, the wasteland of Baal the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes for the last time. Angron and Jaghatai engaged each other in another indecisive duel as they retreated from Baal, but rumours speak of Khârn being put into a Dreadnought…

Most importantly, a group of strange, croissant-shaped xenos vessels entered the battlefield amid the chaos, tearing all ships nearby apart with their heretical weapons before stopping briefly over Baal. Captain of the Sanguinary Guard Azkaellon reported seeing black pylons being deployed from the sky, but no one could explain what happened next.

Sanguinius, noblest of all the Primarchs, was gone.

* * *

The Lord of Angels looked over his surroundings warily. He saw coffins, mist and obelisks. He turned to a creature of metal body, pulsating with blue light.

"I am Anrakyr the Traveller, my guest. The Silent King has requested your presence on our campaign in the intergalactic void." The being explained in fluent and beautifully accented High Gothic.

"Where are we headed to?" Sanguinius returned.

Anrakyr pointed to a projection surrounded by the Lychguard. A massive beast labelled in the ancient race's glowing, floating letters was shown, but the Primarch somehow understood the meaning behind the long dead language – perhaps such was the horror of the beast that it required no explanations.

The Great Devourer, it was.

At the distant Fortress of Hera, Guilliman calmly assessed this chain of sudden events. All was still, except for a tall, slender figure in the silver mirror in front of him, garbed in a flamboyant helmet, sweeping robes and rune-engraved armour. The figure had a voice of ebony.

"I am Farseer Eldrad Ulthuan of Craftworld Ulthwé. Roboute Guilliman, lord of Ultramar, thy war has just begun."

Silence.

"I am listening."

 **FIN**

* * *

T.N

 _Finally! I have completed one translated work! Complete!_

 _I would like to thank all of my readers for their support. Special thanks goes to those who have taken the time to leave reviews! It was really motivating to see people give feedback after all the time that goes into translations!_

 _And well...feel free to create spin offs, I think the author would enjoy seeing people build up from his work. I might put up a last update concerning all the characters that have been killed in this fic since it would help a lot, so there's that._

 _Legio Sinica out._


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